The 54-year-old ran the lucrative business from his suburban home in Meaux, just north of Paris where he lived with his wife and five-year-old child.

The court heard he would wait with the child in the family car outside their home while his 46-year-old wife met clients he had solicited for her over the Internet.

Although both he and his wife were arrested last week, only the man faces pimping charges as prosecutors believe his wife was being exploited.

Emmanuel Dupic for the prosecution said: "The husband exercised a psychological power over his wife, preventing her from stopping submitting herself to the sexual needs of customers who were sometimes very tough."

Although prostitution is legal in France, solicitation is not.

The man now faces a criminal trial and a decade in prison but is currently been released on bail.